Tag: RMWB

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Ft Mac

RMWB Sued Over Canceled Contract With RMWB

Tok Transit, RMWB

RMWB is facing a lawsuit from Tok Transit over the cancellation of a transit contract, with the company claiming that the municipality engaged in a breach of goof faith. The lawsuit was filed at the Fort MacMurray Court of Queen’s Bench on March 26, 2015, and it seeks $22.9 million dollars for debts owed as well as another $100 million in damages for the contract cancellation. The contract was canceled by RMWB on February 19, 2015, without cause. The reason given for canceling the contract was that a transit audit caused the municipality to review the business model used. Tok started to operate transit services in Wood Buffalo in July of 2014, entering into a 15 year contract in April of 2013. This caused the transit company to invest a sizable amount of resources into the partnership in order to fulfill contractual obligations.

In the lawsuit Tok Transit is claiming that RMWB canceled the contract for purposes which were improper and extraneous, and that this has resulted in a breach of good faith and honesty duties in the agreement performance. Audit results in October of 2014 were given to the audit budget committee for RMWB, and this audit showed that Tok Transit had missed some performance targets that were set. These targets included excessive complaints and construction and implementation delays. In February of 2015 RMWB decided to bring transit back in house, canceling the contract with Tok Transit as a result. Robert Kirby, the RMWB director of operations, stated “The contract is quite clear, it gives us 90 days without cause and we’ve exercised our right, it just makes sense to the taxpayers of Fort McMurray.”

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Economic Ft Mac

Canceled Contract Results in Tok Threatening to Take Action Against RMWB

RMWB, Tok, contract

Tok is upset over a move by RMWB to cancel a contract, and the company is threatening to take legal action over the move by the municipality. The contract was canceled on February 19, 2015 after a transit audit in October 2014 showed poor results, with the results being the reason given for terminating the contract with Tok and moving transit services in house. Tok contends that the RMWB made the move for their own convenience, and that the performance by the company has bee depicted inaccurately. According to a release from Ajay Mehra, the COO of Tok, “This termination attempt is part of a planned strategic effort to replace (Tok’s) extensive value added investments … all of which took immense financial resources, time and effort. We are very concerned that the municipality did not support or manage the contract fairly and that RMWB management is making inaccurate and incomplete statements about our operations.”

The Tok contract cancellation by RMWB came as a surprise to the company. The October audit identified numerous targets and commitments covered by the contract that had been previously missed. These included thresholds for complaints and delays, appropriate staffing levels, technology implementation timelines, and even temporary bus shelter construction standards. The municipality started to review various options once the audit results were complete, and decided that the in house option was the way to go for the best possible service to residents. Robert Kirby, the director of operations for RMWB, said “I’m certainly not going to debate him in the press, but our position is we’re doing this for … better quality of service, customer service, the safety.”

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Ft Mac Politics

Officer in Charge at RCMP Switches to RMWB Position

RCMP, RMWB, Bob Couture

Bob Couture, the former RCMP officer in charge, left his position with the law enforcement agency on January 23 in order to take the position of Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo Executive Director of Community and Protective Services. According to RCMP Cpl. George Cameron “He was a fabulous leader here at the detachment, He was well-liked, a very knowledgeable man, and certainly knew his stuff and very well respected. We just wish him all the best in his new endeavours.” RCMP Insp. Rob McCloy, who was previously the operations support officer for the detachment, will be the acting officer in charge until a replacement for Couture can be located. In the past McCloy has taken on these duties when Couture was away so it is nothing new for the inspector.

According to RCMP Cpl. George Cameron replacing Couture after the superintendent’s switch from the RCMP to the RMWB could take some time or it could happen very fast. “It’s like any other position in the RCMP, it gets posted. There’s no specific timeline, it could be quick, it could take months or even longer. I would just be speculating. (The OIC is) the leader of the detachment and ensures that each unit, each watch, each different section is running as smoothly as possible,” When asked about taking on the new duties Insp McCloy said “It’s fine,. “I’ve done the job before, so it’s nothing new for me. I look forward to the challenge. He made the choice that this was the right time for him to move on to other opportunities, and I congratulate him. I enjoyed working with him, he was a very experienced police officer.”

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Uncategorized

RMWB Reviews Program for Snow Removal and Ice Control

snow removal, ice control, RMWB
snow removal, ice control, RMWB

The RMWB is reviewing the program in place for snow removal and ice control in order to make sure the program is effective and meeting the needs in the local area. According to councilor Keith McGrath “Certainly what we have been doing is not working. In the dead of winter when it’s dark, people are miserable anyways, but when it’s compounded with not being able to get in your driveway or get on your streets, it just increases the problems we have.” Right now snow and ice are scraped and removed in residential areas just a few times a year, and this is only done when the snowpack reaches 10cm. Some have suggested that more frequent snow removal and ice control are needed, but there are additional considerations with this move.

Robert Kirby, who is the Acting Director of Operations for RMWB, has been planning consultation meetings over the next few months in order to address concerns and determine what changes are needed for better snow removal and ice control. Kirby said “There is a growing number of residents who would like to see snow plowing in the residential areas. This review will clearly identify the satisfaction level of our residents.” Kirby continued by saying “For us to be able to get into the streets and clear them properly, we’re going to need the roadways cleared.” According to councilor Tyran Ault “It was a horrible winter. If it’s the same kind of winter, we’re going to get a lot of flack again.”